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Brantford-Brant

Bereaved woman has concrete barrier in her front yard as part of push for highway safety

A 2,500-kilogram concrete barrier has taken up residence in Kathleen Reed’s front yard. It’s a dramatic statement and a way for the London woman to spread the word about a Southwestern Ontario campaign to build concrete barriers on Highway 401 between London and Tilbury. Reed’s late fiance Gary Lent was killed in a median crossover crash on that same dangerous stretch of Highway 401 in February. (MEGAN STACEY/The London Free Press)

Kathleen Reed doesn’t have Christmas lights or garland decorating her south London home.

Instead, she’s got a hunk of concrete, nearly three tonnes of it.

The concrete barrier in Reed’s yard isn’t just a statement. It’s also a comfort for the woman who lost her fiance, Gary Lent, in a crossover collision on Highway 401 west of London earlier this year.

Lent, a longtime trucker, was headed west on the 401 on his regular trek from Oakville to Detroit transporting car parts when he was killed in a collision Feb. 16 with another rig that crossed the centre median and rolled over.

Reed has since made it her mission to help get concrete barriers erected along a 136-kilometre stretch of Highway 401.

“If this concrete median barrier was there, I would have Gary here with me today,” Reed said through tears. “We would have so much to look forward to. Sadly, I’ll be hiding away through the Christmas season, because I can’t deal with the pain.”

But Reed is finding hope by joining ranks with Alysson Storey, a Chatham woman who took her fight for the concrete barriers to Queen’s Park. The two share a bond, having both lost loved ones a few kilometres apart on the 401.

Storey began her fight for the concrete medians after her friend, Londoner Sarah Payne, and Payne’s five-year-old daughter Freya were killed Aug. 29 in a crossover crash near Dutton.

As a result of the push, the provincial government — which previously pledged to install high-­tension cable barriers on the stretch west of London to Tilbury — said it will investigate all options to help prevent crashes.

“I think it’s a really interesting and creative way to make an impact and show the government that we’re not going away,” Storey said of Reed’s front-yard barrier. “It inspires me to consider something similar for Chatham-Kent.”

A few weeks ago, the Ontario Ministry of Transportation shot down Reed’s request to place a large wooden cross at the spot where Lent died, saying the sign may pose a distraction for drivers. Now, that memorial cross has taken up residence behind her front-lawn barrier.

Reed says it was the “God Squad” — Gary, Sarah, Freya and others who have been killed along that stretch of 401 — that gave her the idea for the lawn decoration.

As for how it got to her lawn, that was the work of a man she calls “Saint Mike.”

Reed connected with a concrete company after spotting their truck in a Lowe’s parking lot. She was referred to McLean Taylor Construction, a St. Marys-based company that builds bridges, culverts and temporary concrete barriers.

A few hours later, Reed got a call from Mike Doupe, asking when she’d like her barrier delivered, free of charge. It showed up on a flatbed later that day.

“The angels were on my side. This came from the God Squad,” she said.

Doupe said he was saddened by Reed’s story.

“She is putting up one heck of a campaign to get this ball rolling,” he said, adding McLean Taylor uses those barriers to protect workers.

“We want everybody to make it home each night to see their family. That is what touched me. There are incidents on the highways — not all of them can be prevented — but if a simple barrier down the middle of the road can prevent those tragedies, we think it’s very valuable,” Doupe said.

Reed is wary of the barrier upsetting neighbours or inspiring a visit from bylaw officers, but she says it’s worth it to raise awareness, even if it only lasts a few days. She won’t stop until the concrete medians are built.

“I know the human cost,” she said. “This is a reminder for me, every day, no matter what I’m feeling, no matter what I’m going through . . . (to) keep pushing this build the barrier campaign.”